


Carnivals After All

by violet_storms



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Amusement Parks, Best Friends, Carnival, Fluff, Gen, Love Confessions, M/M, Team Sassy Science (Hannibal), Team as Family, team sassy science being happy because that's what they deserve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:40:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25428559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violet_storms/pseuds/violet_storms
Summary: The Red Cross has had its best fundraiser idea yet: a carnival, and the CSI team is all over it. Well, Beverly and Jimmy are. Brian takes some convincing. Team Sassy Science centric, but featuring a few familiar faces.
Relationships: Beverly Katz & Jimmy Price & Brian Zeller, Jimmy Price/Brian Zeller
Comments: 8
Kudos: 51





	Carnivals After All

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alexanderavery998](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexanderavery998/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Fortune’s Fool](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21306950) by [alexanderavery998](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexanderavery998/pseuds/alexanderavery998). 



> This fic's premise of a carnival was inspired by [alexanderavery998](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexanderavery998)'s amazing fanfic _Fortune’s Fool._ She also happens to be the best person ever to exist, so you should 100% go check out her stuff! Love you, A!

_It’s for a good cause,_ Brian Zeller reminded himself as they stepped through the inflatable arch and into the carnival. _Good cause, good cause…_

“Oh my god, Brian,” said Beverly from beside him. “Will you stop making that face? It’s just a carnival.”

“Yeah, you’d think we were shoving bamboo splinters under your fingernails or something,” said Jimmy.

“You know, I think that’s a movie thing. It’s more like if we took pliers and—”

“Okay, can we maybe _not_ talk about medieval methods of torture?” Brian asked.

“Well then, stop looking like we’re using them on you,” Beverly replied. “Like I said, it’s a carnival. It’s supposed to be fun.”

 _“Supposed_ to be.”

“What can you possibly have against carnivals?” Jimmy wanted to know.

“It’s not carnivals in particular. It’s the rain, and all the people, and the noise, and just...we could be at a bar or something, and we’re here?”

“A, just because it rained yesterday doesn’t mean it’ll rain today,” said Beverly. Brian opened his mouth to point out the foreboding color of the sky, but Beverly pressed on. “B, come on, there’s not that many people, don’t be so dramatic. And C, live a little! Expand your horizons!”

“Also, D, all the money goes to the International Committee of the Red Cross,” Jimmy added.

“Yeah, I know, that’s the reason I’m here.”

“No, the reason you’re here is because Bev sent a mildly threatening email to the entire department letting them know the carnival was on tonight and that they should come or else.”

“Hey, disaster relief is important,” said Beverly defensively.

“Which is why I’m going to spend money,” said Brian. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it, though.”

“Oh, yes it does." Beverly linked her arm through his. “We’re going to make you. Come on, Jimmy.”

After a moment, Jimmy linked his arm through Brian’s, too, and Brian’s heart immediately went into hyperdrive. Not making eye contact with either of them, Brian scanned the carnival, hoping he wasn’t blushing.

“Oh no,” he said. “Hard left, hard left! I don’t want to talk to Will!”

“I swear to God,” said Beverly as Brian steered their little chain away from Will Graham, who was in line at the pretzel stand. “What is your deal with him?”

“Pick a number,” huffed Brian. “C’mon, Bev, even you have to have noticed how weird he’s been lately. Like, weirder than normal. Ever since that totem pole.”

“Yeah, well, the totem pole was creepy,” said Jimmy.

The totem pole _had_ been creepy. It hadn’t bothered Brian or Jimmy, but Beverly had hated it. She had cried in the car on the way home from work, and Beverly almost never cried. Brian remembered she had been leaning her head against the window and then he’d glanced over and tears were streaming down her face. He’d pulled over and she had put her head on his shoulder and they had sat there in silence until she was breathing normally again.

Brian wondered if Will Graham had anyone to sit in silence with. He doubted it. The thought made him feel slightly guilty, but he shook his thoughts away and tightened his arm around Beverly’s. “All right, what are we doing first?”

“Hmm,” said Beverly, peering around. “The rides? The game booths?” Her eyes alit upon a stack of hay bales. “Hey, the giant maze.”

“Let’s go in, let’s go in,” said Jimmy. “I love mazes.”

“Yeah, the kind on paper,” said Brian. “It’s probably muddy. Let’s skip it.”

“I bet I can get through faster than you,” said Beverly.

“Ha! You’re on.”

They found their boss, Jack Crawford, standing near the entrance. “You three going in?” he asked.

“Yeah, are you?” said Beverly. Jack shook his head.

“Waiting for Bella. She didn’t want me ‘interfering with her concentration.’ ”

“Hey, Jack, which one of us do you think will make it through the fastest?” said Jimmy.

“Katz,” said Jack without hesitation.

“Oh, that’s nice,” said Brian. “You could have at least pretended to think about it.”

“Not worth it,” said Jack. “Have fun.”

They split up upon entering the maze. Brian wandered through the bales of hay, avoiding the muddy patches of ground. There weren’t many other people in the maze, and he had to admit it was almost peaceful, with nothing but the sky above him. After about ten minutes of searching for the exit, he ran into Jimmy. “Trying to cheat, huh?” he said.

“I would never,” said Jimmy, turning up his nose and heading in the opposite direction. But by the third time they crossed paths, they decided to team up. “Bev’s laughing her head off right now,” Jimmy sighed as they walked past the same sign yet again.

“Yeah, probably,” said Brian, but surprisingly, the thought didn’t annoy him. In fact, he was suddenly in a very good mood. It was only after Jimmy tripped over a rock and caught Brian’s arm to keep from falling that he realized why. _Get a grip, idiot,_ Brian told himself, but he couldn’t stop the grin that broke over his face when Jimmy smiled up at him.

The sky had lightened somewhat as the thunderclouds passed over them—Beverly had been right after all. “Having fun yet?” Jimmy asked him.

“Sort of.”

“You will be eventually, you know. Beverly always gets her way.”

“You have a point there,” he said. “But it’s only fun ‘cause I’m with you.”

“Same here,” said Jimmy, raising his eyebrows. Brian blinked at him. _Shit, what do I say next?_ He opened his mouth, but before he could respond—

“Oh, my God, is that the exit?”

Brian and Jimmy swiveled their heads to the right, the moment temporarily shattered. “Okay, this is definitely cheating,” said Brian as they followed the other group around the corner.

“I don’t care. If I never see a maze again it will be too soon,” Jimmy responded. A second later, they burst into the open to find Beverly seated on a haybale, legs crossed, holding a near-finished candy apple. She gave them the slow clap.

“Ten more minutes and I was going in to find you,” she said.

“Yeah, yeah, we get it, you’re a genius,” said Brian, sighing.

“You said it, not me.” Beverly stood and tossed the apple core in the trash. “Come on, I’ll let you beat me at darts if you want.”

“First I’m getting something to drink,” said Jimmy, starting toward the concession area.

“Get me one,” Beverly and Brian both called after him. Jimmy glanced over his shoulder and gave them a mini-salute, not bothering to ask what they wanted—after three years of friendship, they knew each other too well for that. As soon as he was out of earshot, Beverly turned to Brian.

“So? What happened?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You _know_ what I’m talking about.”

“Seriously? Is that why you made us go in the maze?” Beverly crossed her arms and Brian exhaled heavily. “Nothing happened.”

“Ugh,” said Beverly, running her hands through her hair in frustration. “I hate you both. I hate you both so much. I leave you alone in a giant maze for almost half an hour and _nothing_ happens?”

“If I was going to say something to him, which I’m not, it wouldn’t be in the maze,” Brian said.

“Why are you two making this so difficult?” Beverly groaned. “You like him, he likes you, this should be very, very easy.”

“Well, it’s not, okay? I don’t want to ruin what we have, is that so wrong?”

Beverly sighed. “You’re not going to ruin anything,” she said, but didn’t press the issue. They made their way toward the tent where they were serving the food and sat down at one of the folding tables. Jimmy joined them a minute later and set their drinks down in front of them.

“I got us funnel cake,” he said. “Thought we might as well do this carnival thing right.”

“Jimmy, you are my favorite person in existence,” said Beverly, reaching for the plate immediately. Brian gave it a skeptical glance. “If you don’t try some, I’m going to make you,” Beverly told him through a mouthful of cake. He rolled his eyes in response, but took a bite.

“...All right, it’s good,” he admitted.

“Carnival one, Brian zero,” said Jimmy, laughing. Brian opened his mouth to respond, but choked suddenly. “You okay?”

Brian nodded, then shook his head frantically, then gave a thumbs up. “Wow, he’s finally lost it,” said Beverly, watching him with interest. “Who would’ve thought it would be the carnival that would do him in?”

“Blink twice if you need the Heimlich,” said Jimmy. Brian shook his head again and finally managed to swallow.

“Bev, you invited _Hannibal Lecter?”_

“What?” said Beverly, and she and Jimmy instantly whipped around to see where Brian was looking. “No way. He must’ve heard about it from someone else.”

“That’s him though, right?”

“Who else would be wearing a suit to the carnival?” said Jimmy. “On a Saturday, no less. Does the man ever dress like a normal person?”

“I think this _is_ his idea of a normal person,” said Brian. The three of them stared at the doctor, who looked conspicuously out of place among the colorful, messy tents. Then Dr. Lecter turned in their direction and they hurriedly pretended to be absorbed in their funnel cake. When Brian glanced up again, the psychiatrist was no longer in sight.

Once they had finished, Beverly stood. “On to the games,” she said. “I already bought us like fifty tickets, so we had better try everything.”

It turned out that even with fifty tickets, they couldn’t possibly try everything, but they gave it a shot. Beverly flattened Jimmy and Brian at darts, though she swore she was trying to go easy on them. She also pummeled them in the shooting games, but Brian made up for it by scaring everyone with his skill at the ring toss. “Ring toss, seriously, no one’s supposed to be good at _ring toss,”_ Beverly said, and he threw the bear he’d won at her. She caught it and offered it to one of the children running around, who took it with a smile.

Everyone seemed to be smiling, Brian noticed, as they made their way across the fair. The children and the adults and even Brian himself. “The Red Cross are smarter than I gave them credit for,” he remarked.

“It’s sort of brilliant, isn’t it?” said Beverly. “Having fun yet?”

“Maybe.”

“What rides are you going to drag us on, Bev?” Jimmy inquired, studying the amusement rides with skepticism.

“Have to do the Ferris Wheel, right?” Brian asked her.

“Obviously, but we should save that one till last. Let’s do...ooh, the tilt-a-whirl.”

“What, that? I think that’s for kids,” said Brian, studying the spinning teacups.

“That one is—this one isn’t.” Beverly pointed to a ride spinning so quickly the passengers were practically blurs. Everyone on it was screaming their heads off.

“Remind me never to go to Six Flags with you,” said Jimmy. “You’re the kind of person who rides upside-down roller coasters, aren’t you?”

“Oh, I ride much worse than that.”

“I’m going to veto the tilt-a-whirl,” said Brian, checking his watch. “It’s getting sort of late, I think we only have time for the Ferris Wheel.”

“Huh,” said Beverly, blinking up at the swiftly darkening sky. “When did that happen?”

“This _is_ how winter works, you know. Days getting shorter? You’d think a genius like you would—”

“Oh, shut up,” said Beverly. “Fine then, the Ferris Wheel.”

They joined the line, and Brian watched as the attractions around them began to light up as night approached, the Ferris Wheel outlined in bright colors like something out of a postcard. When they reached the front of the line, Beverly stopped short. “Huh, would you look at that, I forgot my...thing.”

“What thing?”

“You know, the thing! You should go without me,” she said, and ducked away before they could protest. Brian stared after her, opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish.

“I can’t believe—” he turned to Jimmy, who tilted his head to the side. “I mean, I guess, do you still want to go?”

The carnival was much more beautiful from high up. The pink and purple lights washed the grounds in light that seemed almost spectral. The Ferris Wheel turned slowly and Brian thought that if it had been anyone else, it would have been awkward, sitting so close together in the open-air seat, shivering slightly against the chill. But it was never awkward with Jimmy.

“Having fun yet?” Jimmy asked him.

“Yeah,” Brian admitted. “But I still don’t like carnivals. Just you.”

“I like you too, you know,” said Jimmy, and for once he wasn’t teasing or flirting—his voice was simply sincere. Brian grinned at him.

“ ‘Course you do. I’m great.”

“Oh, don’t flatter yourself. The truth is, I was running out of options.”

Brian laughed. _You really are an idiot,_ he told himself. _There wasn’t anything to ruin after all._

When they got circled down again Brian noticed Beverly watching them from the ground. She raised her eyebrows at him. He winked, and her face lit up. When they got off the ride, he said, “I guess I owe you one.”

“You owe me a lot more than one, but I’ll take it.”

“Can we leave now?”

“We can indeed,” said Beverly.

They had come in Jimmy’s car, as they always did. It was parked all the way across the fair, but somehow Brian didn’t mind the way he usually would. Everything suddenly felt all right. The air didn’t seem so cold, and the carnival was still lit up in bright colors, and the night wasn’t over yet.

“My feet hurt,” said Beverly.

“Yeah, that’s because you wore boots,” said Brian, looking down at her footwear critically.

“They look good though,” said Jimmy.

“I know,” said Beverly. She looked up at Brian with pleading eyes. He sighed.

“You want me to carry you?”

“Well, since you asked,” said Beverly, and climbed onto his back, locking her arms around his neck.

“Hey, my feet hurt too,” said Jimmy.

“Sorry man, I’m not Hercules.”

They were out of the carnival now and into the fields. The crickets were chirping and if you squinted, you could even make out some stars. Beverly’s weight on Brian’s back felt comforting, and Jimmy’s presence at his side calming. In fact, he was in such a good mood that when they saw Will Graham hovering by the line of cars he called out, “Hey, Will!” and even smiled.

“Hey,” said Will. “Taxi service, huh, Zeller?” Brian laughed.

“Can’t remember where you parked, Will?” inquired Jimmy. “Happens to all of us. Happens to me all the time.”

“No, I don’t think I drove here,” said Will. Then he shook his head. “I mean, I didn’t drive here. I was just gonna...call a taxi or something.”

“We could give you a ride,” Brian offered, surprising even himself. Will stuck his hands in his pockets awkwardly.

“Oh, thanks, but you know I live in the middle of nowhere, right?”

“That’s okay,” said Jimmy. “What’s a few miles between friends?”

“Or hey, Dr. Lecter could take you,” said Brian, who had just noticed the psychiatrist lingering by his car. He waved him over, and Dr. Hannibal Lecter made his way over to their little group with an intrigued half-smile.

“Will needs a ride,” Beverly explained.

“I would be more than happy to drive you home, Will,” said Dr. Lecter, turning to Will, who looked relieved to see him.

“Yeah, thanks,” he said. Beverly giggled in Brian’s ear. The three of them waved goodbye and continued down the row of vehicles.

When they reached Jimmy’s car, Brian let Beverly down and she climbed into the back while Brian took shotgun. They didn’t turn on music. It didn’t feel like a time for music, somehow, Brian thought. If there had been music, it would have seemed like some kind of movie scene. In silence it was just the three of them, the way it always had been.

They pulled up outside Beverly’s apartment and she popped up from the backseat and threw one arm around each of them, squeezing them together in a quick hug. “Love you!”

“Love you,” they chorused back.

Then it was just the two of them. Nothing different, Brian thought, nothing changed.

“Don’t expect me to tolerate your bullshit just because of this,” he said.

“Don’t expect _me_ to tolerate you, period,” Jimmy said lightly.

Street lights, car lights, and traffic lights flashed in the corners of Brian’s vision, pulling the lights from the Ferris Wheel into his mind. “You know, you don’t necessarily have to take me to my place,” he said. Jimmy looked at him sideways from the driver’s seat and smiled.

As they turned the corner, Brian decided that maybe he did like carnivals after all.


End file.
